Has the BMW M brand become just a marketing tool? Dear BMW, we demand an E89 Z4M!

Has the BMW M brand become just a marketing tool? Dear BMW, we demand an E89 Z4M!

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Has the BMW M brand become just a marketing tool? Dear BMW, we demand an E89 Z4M!

Enough is enough. This is getting absolutely ridiculous. Yes, this article is complaining about BMW and in particular BMW M. We all know BMW is going for 'alternate powertrains' and is pushing 'Efficient Dynamics' and that is absolutely fine. You want to be the German Toyota? Be the German Toyota. But what about the enthusiast? What about Motorsport? Why even have an M division if you are not going to produce Motorsport derived cars?

The world must be upside down when the Ultimate Driving Machine company sells an M sport utility vehicle over the car they choose to race with. There is no E89 generation BMW Z4M for sale yet BMW races one. The hypocrisy and contradiction is absurd. In the American Le Mans series, BMW is racing what is a Z4M. That is, a BMW M division built E89 Z4 GTE. Yet they do not sell one for street use. You can buy the X6M, X5M, but not what actually hits the race track. Why is nobody grabbing pitchforks and torches?

Not only is BMW telling you one thing and doing another, they are completely disrepecting the American Le Mans series by bending the rules. This is not the first them they have done it but it has never been so blatant. Someone needs to say something. Someone needs to do something. If this does not get you even remotely upset then it is completely over.

The BMW i3 is being pushed on us whether we want it or not. They want to build transportation for the masses. That is fine. But what about the BMW enthusiast? What about the customers who have stuck by for decades? People who are (were) fans of the brand and have bought multiple cars? The slogan supposedly is, "We only build one thing, The Ultimate Driving Machine." Then why aren't you building it?

We can have both. BMW can build a huge volume of cars and the executives can light cigars with $100 dollar bills while sitting atop a pile of money pointing at the quarterly BMW sales figures. Would it kill them to actually produce the car they have produced for every prior Z car generation? Especially considering the M division races one? Especially considering record numbers and profits? BMW, have you completely abandoned us? Have you completely abandoned the spirit of the brand?

Sorry for my lack of knowledge, but what are the rules regarding the cars they race? I always thought they had to sell them as street cars... are they getting around this because they sell the regular Z4?

That's B.S. Why would you give a year exemption? Are they making them sign a contract that they would have the car available for sale the following year?? That would make no sense-- everyone should get that exemption and "make" their special car and then get an exemption the next year for another car... and on and on. That truly negates the purpose of the rule.

I loved my NA s65, but I sold it and have no plans on going back to BMW at the look of things. In fact, I'm liking the audi's more and more.

The regulations state that 100 cars and 1,000 engines must be built for the car to qualify. Why BMW is allowed to skirt the rules, we have never had an explanation why. You can thank the pussies at IMSA, they let them turn the Z4 GT3 into a GTE class spec car for ALMS competition.

You don't see BMW racing the Z4 GTE at 24 Le Mans, because the ACO would never let them run it. Hell, the ACO made BMW change the suspension on the E92 M3 GTE, because they were allowed to run a non-stock suspension setup in ALMS. ACO said no way, so BMW whined like little babies and stopped showing up to the 24hrs.

But seriously, where is the explanation for the Z4 being allowed to race? Competitors don't care? Or are they just like it's BMW we're used to their whining and it's better for ALMS to have them in there?

What rules made the m3 slower than the other cars, but doesn't effect the z4

Whatever changes apparently limited their top end speed. That seems to be the issue now as well. So even going to a bigger motor isn't enough? Should they just let BMW do whatever they want? It's getting absurd.

Whatever changes apparently limited their top end speed. That seems to be the issue now as well. So even going to a bigger motor isn't enough? Should they just let BMW do whatever they want? It's getting absurd.

That is just a cop out. All the teams get performance adjustments through out the season.